Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.

Friday, December 08, 2006

NEWS ROUNDUP

Ranchers Feel Fenced In Yakima Valley ranchers feel fenced in after Thursday night's public hearing. The county's planning commission is about to make an important decision that would take away a part of their land. A group of ranchers at the public forum said the county could force them to make a big separation between their pastures and creeks. It's a buffer zone which the county said would protect fish and other wildlife, along with shorelines. County planner John Marvin said the changes should help the county stay within state requirements. But area ranchers want to find common ground. David Taylor, a rancher from Moxee, disagreed with the county and said the buffer zones will disrupt their work. "Yakima County has two major employers, that's government and ag," he said. "Unfortunately ag's the only producer of the two. Let's let the producers go ahead and have a little more control of what's being said." Taylor, who also represents a group of farmers in Yakima, said he would be in favor of a rewarding system, that would give ranchers a tax break or an environmental credit for protecting shorelines....Editorial - Wolf management takes addition and subtraction A new report out this week shows the number of wolves in the northern Rockies continues to grow, bolstering success for one of the standout success stories to play out under the Endangered Species Act. Predictably, more wolves mean more potential conflicts with humans - primarily with people's livestock. Impressively, wildlife managers have moved decisively to address those conflicts in a manner that should bolster public confidence in their ability and commitment to sustain wolves in balance with their surroundings. The number of wolves estimated in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming is at least 1,264. The number in Montana is pegged at about 300. Federal and state authorities are in the process of removing wolves in the region from the list of threatened and endangered species protected under federal law. Although wolves began recolonizing northwestern Montana about a quarter-century ago, the big breakthrough came in 1995 with reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho using transplants from Canada. As the number of wolves grew this past year, this week's report noted, the number of livestock they killed also grew. The numbers are extremely small as a percentage of livestock raised in the region, but at 170 cattle and 344 sheep, they're the largest number of confirmed wolf kills since reintroduction. The numbers are high enough to raise public concern if the problem were ignored. It wasn't ignored. Authorities have been responding aggressively to predation on livestock by wolves. Government agents and, in a few cases, private landowners authorized by the authorities, have killed more than 150 wolves blamed for killing or harassing livestock. Such predator control is no long-term strategy for ending conflicts between livestock and wolves - no more than the relentless shooting of coyotes has solved any rancher's worries. But a short-term remedy can be helpful nonetheless to a rancher whose livelihood is on the line....Green Gray Areas ENVIRONMENTALISM IS A kind of religion, and that’s OK, William Cronon told an audience of 150 at the Chicago History Museum in late November. Just don’t get fundamentalist about it. To put it another way, Joni Mitchell was wrong: there is no garden, we can’t get back to it, and trying to do so will just make it harder to protect nature. Cronon teaches history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He’s no stranger to the museum, formerly the Chicago Historical Society, having camped out in its library researching his 1991 blockbuster Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. Cronon told his audience that we can see ourselves as part of nature, because we’re products of geology and evolution, or we can see ourselves as outside of nature, because we stand back and judge things in a way rocks and tigers can’t. Both perspectives have value, he said, and we shouldn’t try to reconcile them or carry either one to extremes. He urges environmentalists who are trying to decide where and how to protect nature to ask both the inside-of-nature question (“Can we keep on doing this here indefinitely?”) and the outside-of-nature question (“What would this place be like if we weren’t here?”)....Conservation Easement Benefits For Ranchers & Farmers In 2007 All ranchers and farmers who have considered placing a conservation easement on their property should be aware that there are significant added financial benefits available to those who donate conservation easements to qualified land trusts in 2006 and 2007 due to favorable provisions in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. A complete discussion of those benefits can be found at the following link: http://www.gfhlawfirm.com/conservation.html. Generally speaking, a landowner who donates a qualifying conservation easement during ‘06 or ‘07 will be able to claim a much larger deduction for that charitable donation and carry over excess amounts of the charitable contributions for up to15 tax years as opposed to the current 5 years. Ranchers and farmers who meet specific criteria will receive an even greater benefit than other landowners. Because these provisions are scheduled to expire on December 31 of 2007, however, landowners who do not act before that date will not be able to take advantage of these additional benefits unless the law is renewed by Congress. Conservation easements are a particularly effective tool for a landowner who wishes to preserve the agricultural nature of his property forever as well as to reduce or eliminate the possible tax burden on his children and grandchildren upon his death. Although some conservation easements allow for the use of the conserved land by the public, most do not and there is no requirement that land be opened to the public in order to receive the available tax benefits. Most commonly, a conservation easement simply restricts the future uses of any parcel of land upon which the easement has been placed to those which are compatible with the current agricultural or scenic nature of the property.... Three Wilderness Bills Meet Death by Lame Duck Three controversial bills that proposed new wilderness areas in exchange for development lands seem likely to die at the hands of a lame-duck Congress. A bill that would have sold off up to 24,300 acres of federal land in Washington County Utah in exchange for new wilderness areas around Zion National Park is off the table, at least this year. Sen. Bob Bennett tells the Salt Lake Tribune that it might have had a chance in the Senate, but House leaders refused to tack on any new legislation to existing bills. That raises questions as to how well the Democratic majority in either chamber next year will view the plan, which was sharply criticized by environmentalists. Rep. Jim Matheson says he'll champion it to fellow Democrats, but environmentalists hope to see it die. The bill was patterned off a similar one proposed in Nevada by Democrat Sen. Harry Reid, soon to be majority leader. But that bill is running into trouble, too. Reid's bill would let the BLM auction up to 45,000 federal acres in White Pine County, handing 10 percent for law enforcement and transportation planning, 5 percent to the state education fund and the rest for wilderness management in the county. The idea was to boost the economy in a county where 95 percent of the land is in the hands of the feds. Things aren't looking much better for an Idaho wilderness bill to protect the Boulder-White Cloud mountains and surrounding forest, which looks to be scuttled by a lame-duck Congress. Rep. Mike Simpson, R, says he'll keep trying to attach it to other legislation before Congress adjourns but prospects are dwindling....Private rift in Idaho congressional delegation becomes public A private rift between Sen. Larry Craig and Rep. Mike Simpson over a stalled Idaho wilderness bill is widening into a public quarrel, straining a long-held posture of unity among the state's all-Republican congressional delegation. Craig and Simpson wrote side-by-side opinion pieces in Thursday's Idaho Statesman newspaper outlining their disagreements over Simpson's bill to designate the Boulder-White Cloud mountains and surrounding forest as protected wilderness. "To some degree it's a little bit of a departure," Simpson told The Associated Press of the decision to challenge Craig in print. "If something is going to be said and I feel it's inaccurate, I have to stand up and correct it." The Central Idaho Economic and Recreation Act would create federal wilderness in Idaho for the first time since 1980. It passed the House in July, but remained stymied in the Senate after Craig announced his opposition last week. Simpson said Thursday he still hopes to persuade a senator to attach the wilderness measure to any bill in the waning days of the session, but he acknowledged "running out of vehicles." Craig's opinion piece was a response to a Statesman editorial that criticized the senator for his "11th-hour" demand that Congress pay all ranchers and other stakeholders their promised compensation before the wilderness boundaries are designated. The demand is a deal-breaker because environmental groups who helped write the bill have always refused to support such so-called "trigger language."....Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus, Grassley Praised by National Environmental Leaders for Introducing Bill to Help Save Endangered Species on Private Lands The leaders of three leading national environmental groups today praised Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) for introducing and Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT) for cosponsoring a new bill to provide financial incentives for private landowners to help save endangered plants and animals. The bill introduction is significant because all four senators are key members of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax credit legislation; Senators Grassley and Baucus are the top ranking Republican and Democratic members of the committee. Environmental Defense, National Wildlife Federation and Defenders of Wildlife sent a letter thanking Senators Crapo, Lincoln, Baucus and Grassley for sponsoring The Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2006 (S. 4087). The legislation would provide $400 million annually in new tax credits, plus additional deductions and exclusions, for private landowners who take steps to help endangered or threatened species on the properties they own, such as the northern Idaho ground squirrel, the red-cockaded woodpecker in Arkansas, the bull trout in Montana, and the Topeka shiner (a fish) in Iowa. "The most effective way to resolve conflict is to find consensus and collaboration; once that is achieved, the results can be phenomenal," said Senator Crapo. "This legislation encourages people to take part in conservation efforts. In fact, it rewards them for taking actions that will lead to species recovery and enhancement. It makes conservation valuable rather than a liability and it avoids the pitfalls that litigation brings....Sentencing delayed for Vail arsonists Sentencing hearings have been postponed from next week for two people who pleaded guilty to participating in the 1998 arsons that destroyed a lodge at the Vail ski area. Prosecutors are recommending that Chelsea Dawn Gerlach and Stanislas Gregory Meyerhoff, both 29, receive 10 years in prison for their role in the arsons as well as participation in a slate of other crimes aimed at government agencies and businesses they believed were not acting with environmental responsibility. Attorneys involved in the case said Thursday's sentencing date probably will be pushed back until spring to allow federal courts to consider the fates of all 19 defendants accused in the five-year eco- terrorism crime spree. The secretive, loose-knit cell, which called itself "the family," frequently attributed its work to the Earth Liberation Front. Gerlach and Meyerhoff are accused of aiding cell leader Bill Rodgers in torching Two Elk Lodge and several other buildings on top of the Vail ski area in protest of the resort's plans to expand into habitat for the endangered Canada lynx.... Campground cuts will be deep Half of the 140 campgrounds and other recreation facilities in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests are being targeted for closure or reduced services, according to a U.S. Forest Service report. The three forests on the Western Slope cover 3 million acres and encompass lands around Telluride, Crested Butte and Gunnison. Forest Service officials say upkeep is getting too expensive and next year's budget calls for a 60 percent cut in funding for the maintenance and operation of the facilities - a drop to $90,000 from $223,000. The federal agency is weighing the value of all 15,000 recreation facilities, including campgrounds, picnic areas and trailheads with toilets in order to cut costs. The Forest Service faces a $346 million backlog in maintenance, a growing tab for fire suppression and a dwindling annual budget - which was cut 2.5 percent to $4.9 billion for 2007....Vandalized gate led to fatal journey Vandals had cut the lock on a gate that should have stopped the Kim family of San Francisco from taking the spur road that led to a deadly wilderness ordeal, the Forest Service said Thursday. "That road is gated for the winter, and it was gated on Nov. 1," said Patty Burel, a spokeswoman for the service and the federal Bureau of Land Management. "During the search for the Kim family, it was discovered that the lock had been cut off, and the gate opened." Burel said there was now a "law-enforcement investigation into this vandalism that may have contributed to this tragedy." Still, in a perverse twist to the tragedy, the Kims were just a few miles from potential salvation that lay along the detour: a seasonal fishing and rafting lodge near the end of the spur road. Though closed for the winter, the remote Black Bar Lodge has provisions that could have helped the family through their wait for rescue in the freezing wilderness, had they come upon the property and broken in, said the owner, John James....Forest boosts motorized use On paper at least, motorized users seemed to benefit from an extension of the comment period on the Gallatin National Forest travel management plan. The final decision on the plan, released today, added 27 more ATV trail miles, 26 more motorcycle trail miles, six miles of snowmobile trails and opened more than 30,000 additional acres to snowmobiling when compared with the forest's Alternative 7 proposed last spring. The comment period was extended 72 days at the behest of Rep. Denny Rehberg and Sen. Conrad Burns. More than 10,000 comments came in during the four-year planning effort. In her decision rationale, forest supervisor Becki Heath wrote that her objective was to bring "motorized use under greater management control rather than attempting to limit the amount of use." As the plan's final environmental impact statement notes, this is the forest's first comprehensive analysis or management plan for travel....Front bill still alive Sen. Max Baucus inserted language in last-minute legislation Thursday that would ban future gas, oil and mineral exploration along Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front. Baucus also included wording — into what is known as a tax “extender” bill — that would give a 25 percent tax incentive to companies that donate their leases to non-profit organizations. Baucus expects this will be the last piece of legislation this Congress will pass, so it is the last opportunity to legislate permanent protection for the Front this year. “I’m hopeful we can get it done,” Baucus said. “The Rocky Mountain Front is just too important to hunting, fishing, and recreation. The Front should be protected forever and that’s why my provision would do.” The bill still needs to pass the House and Senate. Barrett Kaiser, a spokesman for Baucus, said they believe the House will take up the measure Thursday night and it will come before the Senate today....Quest to release ski film denied The movie is the most comprehensive film - and likely the only film - made about ski mountaineering on Colorado's highest peaks. The video tale documents 30 of Davenport's climbs and descents as part of his audacious push to ski every one of the state's 54 highest peaks in a year. He has skied 46 so far. "The main reason I wanted to make this movie is I love skiing big peaks and very few people in the world see Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks in winter," he said. "I wanted to be the first person to bring these peaks to the masses and show them what's possible." His plan was to use the movie to raise money for nonprofit organizations such as the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and the Roaring Fork Avalanche Center. But he failed to secure a commercial filming permit from the Forest Service. And his post-production application for a permit was rejected. If the Forest Service gets its way, the existing film never will been seen by anyone but Davenport and his pal, videographer Ben Galland. If it is, said White River National Forest public affairs officer Sally Spaulding, Davenport could face a $5,000 fine and six months in jail, although, she added, that is "highly unlikely." "Filming of the commercial type in the wilderness area can be allowed, but only when that activity directly contributes to the purpose of why the wilderness area was established," Spaulding said. "It's the feeling of this national forest that Mr. Davenport's activities do not contribute to the wilderness area or why the wilderness area was established. It's just about skiing 14,000-foot peaks. His proposal was denied.".... Shaking the snow out of the clouds When a storm approaches, Debbie Adams' phone rings. The voice on the other side of the line gives her detailed instructions. It tells her exactly when to start up the fire-breathing contraption that stands beside her hay pasture on Brush Creek outside of Eagle. And how much silver iodide solution should be fed into the burner. And when to turn it off. Adams then trudges out to the generator, which is made of two tanks and a pipe jutting into the air. Once the propane and the silver iodide solution are coming out of the pipe, and it is lit, an orange flame shoots skyward. Heated to a temperature of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the silver iodide vaporizes and is cast into the wind. Adams and her family operate one of 17 generators that are part of the cloud-seeding operation for Vail and Beaver Creek. Vail Resorts contracts Larry Hjermstad of Durango-based Western Weather Consultants to run the operation. Hjermstad has been seeding clouds for Vail Resorts for 30 years....State panel recommends approval of land purchase A state committee is recommending that Gov. John Hoeven approve a McKenzie County land purchase by the American Foundation for Wildlife. The Natural Areas Acquisition Advisory Committee, which advises the governor on land purchases by nonprofit groups, voted 4-2 this week to recommend the sale go ahead. Hoeven has 30 days from Thursday to make a decision. The wildlife group wants to buy 243 acres of fish and wildlife habitat near the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. The land, which currently is in private hands, eventually would be turned over to the state Game and Fish Department for management. State law requires nonprofits to get approval from the governor before buying land in the state. The advisory committee has representatives from various groups including state government agencies and farm groups....Livestock Use is Starving Mexican Spotted Owls in the Sacramentos With continued harms to Mexican Spotted Owls from livestock grazing, Forest Guardians filed suit today in federal district court, contending that the Forest Service is failing to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The group says that the Forest Service is jeopardizing the existence of the owl through poor grazing management, and that the agency should terminate cattle use of the Sacramento allotment in the Sacramento Mountains on the Lincoln National Forest in southern New Mexico. According to the suit, the Forest Service has failed to uphold its commitment to insure that recovery efforts for the owl will be furthered on the allotment, which contains a large amount of critical habitat for the species. Forest Guardians describes in its complaint how the Forest Service has refused to adequately monitor for or maintain healthy meadows and riparian areas on the Sacramento allotment. The allotment covers over 100,000 acres of public land, and supports more Mexican Spotted Owls than any other allotment on the Lincoln National Forest. The owl depends on healthy riparian areas and grassy meadows in order to live in the Sacramento Mountains. Healthy meadows are especially important to the owl because good grass cover creates habitat for the Mexican vole, a small rodent, which is an important part of the owl’s diet. When cattle forage on the meadow grasses, the voles disperse and the owls can go hungry....go here to view the complaint.Western governors endorse wildfire plan Western governors endorsed a plan Thursday to step up thinning of U.S. forests and improve the accounting of those projects to better reduce wildfire risks while protecting homes and natural ecosystems. The proposal calls for better sharing of information and monitoring of accomplishments as well as forest conditions to make the most of scarce dollars and ‘‘improve transparency'' in decisions about where and how to do the logging. ‘‘Governmental and non-governmental entities are collaborating and making significant progress on the ground and in management to address this nation's fire and forest health needs,'' four Western governors, federal and state officials said in a letter Thursday to congressional leaders. ‘‘Yet, despite our best efforts thus far, substantial work on our forest and rangeland remains,'' they said. U.S. Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said the proposal represented ‘‘a midcourse correction'' to the association's earlier document approved in 2002....Interior secretary signs Platte River agreement The Platte River Recovery agreement was set in motion Thursday with the signature of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. The agreement among Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska helps guide the use of Platte River water in the three states while protecting endangered species. The Platte River in central Nebraska is a major stop for migrating whooping cranes and home to the piping plover, least tern and pallid sturgeon. They're all designated as threatened or endangered species. If the agreement had not been reached, the Endangered Species Act requirements for hundreds of water projects in the basin would have to be addressed separately, according to Mark Limbaugh, U.S. Department of Interior assistant secretary for water and science. "That would be vastly more expensive and certainly less effective in recovering the species," Limbaugh said. The governors of Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming already have signed the Platte River Cooperative Agreement, which is designed to help guide Platte River Basin entities in complying with the Endangered Species Act while retaining their access to federal water, land or funding. The goal is to improve the river and protect habitat for native birds and fish. The plan will cost about $317 million, with $157 million coming from the Department of Interior and the rest from the three states in cash, land and water. Congress still must approve the federal government's portion....Report throws more doubt on Rock Creek mine A report showing regulators generally fail to predict water pollution at hard-rock mines could have implications for a controversial mining proposal in Montana's Cabinet Mountains. The Rock Creek mine, if approved, would tunnel beneath the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness area, complete with roads, pipelines, power lines and, importantly, a tailings treatment plant. Proposed by Revett Minerals, the mine is expected to operate 35 years, yielding an estimated 10,000 tons of copper and silver ore per day. The project has proved a difficult sell, however, the focus of repeated litigation over water quality and bull trout, among other things. Recently, federal regulators determined the Rock Creek mine would not jeopardize bull trout, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. But that determination was based upon predictions about mining effects on water quality, and the report released Thursday shows those predictions fail to anticipate significant pollution more than 75 percent of the time. The result of two years of efforts by mining engineer Jim Kuipers and geochemist Ann Maest, the study looks at a sampling of predictions made in environmental impact statements - documents that help determine whether a mining permit can be issued. Then they looked at actual conditions once mining commenced. In three-quarters of the case studies, water quality impacts not predicted were later measured....Sportsmen group calls for wolf Delisting More than 700 wolves now exist in the state, and some Idahoans think that's just too many. So Thursday a group called the Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife announced a petition to have the wolves delisted from the endangered species list. They're worried about the amount of game animals like deer, elk, and moose that are being consumed, especially since the number of wolves that now live here are eating about 6,000 pounds of meat everyday. "We have more wolves in the lower 48 than any of the other states, and they're unmanaged. We've got to get a handle on them, we've got to manage the predator and prey population within the state," said Marv Hagedorn, Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife....Victoria's Secret goes green The company which owns Victoria's Secret has been whipped into line by environmentalists whose campaign urged it to protect caribou in Alberta's foothills forests. Limited Brands will immediately stop using pulp from West Fraser's Hinton mill to produce the 350 million lingerie catalogues it sends out annually, the company announced Wednesday. "The growing controversy about logging in caribou range is of serious concern to us, and we want to ensure that our paper consumption does not contribute to the demise of endangered species," said Tom Katzenmeyer, senior vice-president of community and philanthropy for the company....Cattle group offering rewards to stem rustling Cattle rustlers have come a long way since the horseback raids of the Old West, with thieves nowadays often loading up the animals in their 18-wheelers and driving off. One things remains the same, though: Folks are willing to offer up a reward to catch the dastardly thieves. The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association announced plans this week to offer rewards for helping catch rustlers in the nation's leading cattle-producing state. Cattlemen in Texas — among them former Houston Astros and Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan — have been targeted because of the high cost of beef. The law enforcement branch of the association investigated 1,100 cases last year, "considerably more" than 2004, said Larry Gray, the association's director of law enforcement. "It's devastating to a producer to lose 20 to 30 head, economically, especially to a small producer," he said. Almost 5,200 cattle were recovered in 2005 — more than double the previous year's number — by the Fort Worth-based cattle association's field detectives. The rewards are available now, and the amount is based on several factors, including the amount of help provided, the number of cattle taken and the number of properties hit, Gray said....Cattlemen on horseback drive 1,000 cattle home November, west central North Dakota ranchers on horseback drive cattle 35 miles home from northern pastures on the Fort Berthold Reservation - a sight reminiscent of the early days of cowboy cattle drives. About 1,000 head of cattle file down Highway 22, making their way across the Lost Bridge and maneuvering through vehicles filled with pheasant and deer hunters. Always a sight to see, the cattle move along in order, sometimes in single file, for miles through the Reservation and into Little Missouri State Park. Amazingly, even when the horseback riders and other helpers stop for the lunch Candace Kleeman brings them at midday, the cattle continue their long jaunt home. Shannon Dennis, one of the livestock producers on the drive, says while the cattle start off in bunches on the long drive, eventually they assume more of a single file and move steadily along the highway, one by one....Mining ghosts I had the pleasure of having at my side on this trip a man whose father knew Josepha. Pablo Moralez came to Arizona's western desert by horse-drawn wagon in 1918, eventually becoming a rancher. Today his son Angel, my guide, continues the tradition. Signs along the road point to Angel's ranch, where the 65-year-old, with help from three sons and a daughter, operates a cactus nursery. He knows this land as if it were his backyard - because it is - and he has a keen memory for stories his father told, especially about Josepha. Every morning she'd walk the creek bed and find gold nuggets that had washed up the night before. She'd put them in her mouth and keep going, grabbing more as she went. She kept the gold in a jar and hid it in a hole in the floor under her bed. "My mother asked why she did that," Angel said. Pointing to Rich Hill, Josepha responded, "These nuggets brought the White man here. Maybe if I pick them all up, no more will come."....

2 Rounds Left On a night where five world champions took victory laps for the round's best rides and runs, tie-down roper Cody Ohl had the widest grin of them all. Already the owner of four tie-down roping world titles and another as the world's top all-around cowboy, Ohl will need to find room in his trophy case for another. He clinched the world tie-down roping title Thursday in winning style, highlighting Round 8 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in front of 17,740 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Ohl (Hico, Texas) roped and tied his calf in 7.6 seconds, good for a share of the round title with Clint Robinson (Spanish Fork, Utah). The $14,342 in prize money gave Ohl an insurmountable lead with just two days remaining in the ProRodeo season. He also leads the lucrative 10-head average race by nearly seven seconds, giving him the potential to earn quite a payday when the rodeo ends on Saturday. Ohl wasn't the only one assuring that a gold buckle will be in his immediate future. Trevor Brazile, the three-time world champion all-around cowboy, wrapped up rodeo's most coveted title, while Will Lowe, the reigning and two-time world champion bareback rider, will become the first cowboy in his event to repeat as world champion since Marvin Garrett from 1994-95....This article will also give you links to all the results, round by round.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

NRC dismissal of environmental groups' intervention in early site permit proceedings for new nuclear power facilities is affirmed where: 1) the NRC was not arbitrary or capricious in adopting the applicant's goals as the purpose behind the site permit; 2) it was reasonable for the NRC to conclude that NEPA did not require consideration of energy efficiency alternatives; 3) it was reasonable for the NRC to delay the need-for-power analysis until the combined license application; and 4) the Board satisfied NEPA's procedural requirements and rendered a decision that thoughtfully considered all reasonable alternatives. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/061442p.pdf

In an action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) challenging an Environmental Analysis conducted in connection with a logging project in Oregon, summary judgment in favor of the Bureau of Land Management on mootness grounds is reversed where the case was not moot, and an environmental assessment (EA) was inadequate as it: 1) failed to disclose and consider quantified and detailed information regarding the cumulative impact of the logging project combined with past, present, and reasonably foreseeable logging projects; and 2) it was tiered to other documents that did not contain the requisite site-specific information about cumulative effects. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0535245p.pdf

Court upholds $600K to rancher in suit vs. environmental group An Arizona appeals court on Wednesday upheld a jury's $600,000 judgment to a rancher in a defamation lawsuit, rejecting an environmental group's argument that documents it posted on the Internet were shielded by the First Amendment. The Court of Appeals upheld a Pima County Superior Court jury's award of compensatory and punitive damages to Jim Chilton in his lawsuit against the Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit group with offices in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, D.C. A lawyer for the rancher said the appellate court stood up for a person wrongly defamed, while an attorney for the center said the ruling trampled citizens' right to petition for redress of grievances. Chilton said he and his business, Chilton Ranch and Cattle Co., were defamed by false postings the center made on its Web site. The postings referred to alleged overgrazing on Chilton's grazing allotment, issued by the U.S. Forest Service for 21,500 acres in the Arivaca area northwest of Nogales. The center unsuccessfully opposed the 10-year renewal granted for Chilton's grazing permit, and the group subsequently posted links to the center's appeal and related photographs on its Web site. The environmental group argued that the documents were shielded by state and federal constitutional protections for the right to petition the government over grievances because the appeal and photographs submitted with it were public records related to official proceedings. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel in Tucson said the center did not raise the issue of constitutional protections until too late in the case. The center asked for extra leeway on that point, but the court refused, saying that the jury found evidence of "actual malice" that indicated that the center knew that some of the material was false....Cattlemen take progressive stance on wolf control If the federal government doesn't expedite efforts to make Idaho the principal agent for wolf control, the Idaho Cattle Association will sue. The organization passed the resolution to potentially bring suit against the U.S. Department of the Interior at its 93rd annual meeting in Sun Valley earlier this week. Idaho has met recovery efforts established by the Endangered Species Act, the cattlemen say, and therefore the state, not the federal government, should have the right to control and maintain the wolf population within state boundaries. Since 2004, Idaho has been designated as an agent of the federal government for wolf management. According to Idaho Fish and Game statistics, as of October of this year, numbers for calves killed by wolves are up by 17 percent from the entire year of 2005, with 21 dead animals recorded. During the same time frame, wolves have killed 170 sheep as compared to 148 killed in 2005. In 2004, the agency confirmed that 105 sheep were killed. The numbers of dogs are down from 2005. So far in 2006, four dogs have been killed compared to 10 in 2005. Three dogs were killed in 2003. Mike Webster, outgoing ICA president, said one wildlife biologist told him that for every one killed animal found there are six to eight more that wouldn't be found....Close Wolf Encounters; Brushes Between Kids and Lobos Leave Parents Fearful A couple of encounters between children and reintroduced Mexican gray wolves this fall have some residents of southwestern New Mexico's Gila country worried. In one case, three wolves approached 14-year-old J.C. Nelson while he was on a hunting trip with his father. In another, a wolf attacked and injured a family dog while a young girl was nearby. Joe Nelson, J.C.'s father, said: "He was just out there in the woods and some wolves surrounded him. They didn't attack but were waiting for the chance." The Nelsons were hunting south of Reserve on Oct. 22 when J.C. strayed about half a mile from his father. He came across a group of three wolves moving toward him and backed up against a tree. One stayed in front of him while the other two circled around. They came within 20 or 30 feet of the boy and left after five to 10 minutes, according to Morgart and Nelson. Carlie Gatlin, whose husband manages a ranch in the Gila, said a family dog was killed by a wolf near their house about two months ago. "I don't let the kids go outside unless they have two-way radios," she said. "I've heard of a lot more encounters going on."....Column - Animals Gone Wild "Is he mentally ill?" asked Fox-News anchor Julie Banderas. She was quizzing an "expert" about the black bear that attacked campers in Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest earlier this year. The animal killed a six-year-old girl and mauled her mother and brother. To listen to Banderas and her expert, the bear acted out of character. Looking to do what his kind usually do -- have a Teddy Bear's Picnic -- he was seized by an illogical urge to rip into flesh with his pointy teeth and sharp claws. Naturally, Banderas reached for the therapeutic idiom to divine Teddy's terrible conduct. When crocodiles devoured a number of young Floridian women back in May, naturalist Maria Thomson was also ready with a cross-species adaptation of liberal root-causes thinking. "The alligator isn't the problem. It's humans," she snipped. "We're pushing them to the limit." Time magazine opted to describe the Florida feeding frenzy as "a ghastly coincidence." That's right: a prehistoric killing machine attacks easy prey -- humans -- and the "experts" blame its victims (or their remains), while assuring the potential prey that the beast's behavior is abnormal. "Every so often, [animals] push back." After all, they are being forced "to share territory that humans [mistakenly, obviously] consider their own," Time vaporized....Forest management petition pulled back Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. pulled back the state's roadless forest petition last month following a federal court decision that has thrown the Bush administration's whole petition process into question. But the respite will likely be only temporary. Officials from Utah's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office told a group of rural county commissioners here Wednesday that the state will likely follow through and file its petition, albeit through a different process. "The big concern I keep hearing is that we've got to manage these forests," said Lynn Stevens, director of the state's Public Lands Policy Coordination Office. "I don't see any reason for any more restrictive designations." That was certainly the refrain of the gathered commissioners, who are seeking to quash the Forest Service's roadless designation in order to open up more of the forest and boost their economies through timber and energy development. Utah's roadless petition, at least in its draft form, seeks to do just that, calling for the elimination of all roadless restrictions and relying on the Forest Service's planning process - with input from local officials - to guide land-use decisions.... Home-building slump cuts into sawmills' income, workers as lumber prices fall Dozens of sawmills around the country are laying off workers, shutting down temporarily or trimming hours, as a steep drop in home building hits demand and prices. New home construction and existing home renovation account for 75% of demand for U.S. softwood lumber, which includes pine, spruce and fir. As housing starts have tumbled nearly 30% in the past year, some softwood product prices taken a similar drop. Production at Western sawmills is off 6% in the first nine months of the year, and is expected to fall still more. Mills are also curtailing operations in the South, which produces about a third of U.S. softwood. "In lumber, basic economic rules apply: supply and demand. The demand dropped off quickly, and so did the price," says Joe Kusar, vice president of Tolleson Lumber, the largest lumber maker in Georgia. Tolleson Lumber has been operating a four-day-a-week schedule since late summer, due primarily to the slowing housing market. In Northern California, Pacific Lumber said Dec. 1 that it was laying off 90 people, or 19% of workers....Mark Rey: Public land laws are due for an overhaul The system of laws governing public land management in the United States is disjointed and archaic, according to Mark Rey, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment. Addressing those gathered for a conference on “Challenges Facing the U.S. Forest Service,” presented by the University of Montana’s O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, the keynote speaker referred to the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act, and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act as process-oriented measures with broad and lofty goals. He deemed other laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act Zero Discharge Standard “absolutist proscriptions.” “The administration of the laws are governed by different agencies with different levels of expertise,” Rey told the group, adding that the various agencies have different objectives and missions; different outlooks on the acceptable level of risk in their decision making, and on addressing or attempting to address the very same policy questions…all while they are bearing in mind the Jeffersonian principle that laws should change as society changes and institutions should keep up with the times. In many respects his comments echoed the sentiments of former Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Jack Ward Thomas, who had addressed the conference earlier in the day. Referring to the Forest Service through the use of an analogy, Thomas had told the group that the best horse in the government’s stable was cross-hobbled. “She can run like no other before,” he said. Take off the hobbles, remove the blindfold, ease up on the spurs and let her run. As a way of bringing his point about the antiquated nature of the existing laws, Rey pointed out that the Environmental Policy Act was enacted by Congress in 1969 and has never since been amended or modified; that the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, was last amended in the early 1980s, and is now extremely overdue for re-authorization; the National Forest Management Act became law in 1976 and was amended significantly only once in 1977, and the Federal Land and Policy Management Act that was enacted in 1976 has not been significantly amended....Corporation wants to drill on Mt. Taylor After drilling six exploratory holes by Mt. Taylor earlier this year in search of uranium, the Western Energy Development Corporation is asking for state and federal permission to drill 47 more. The Canadian-based resource company submitted its plans to the U.S. Forest Service late last month for approval. The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is expecting the company to request a state permit soon. It will make Western Energy the latest in a new wave of companies rushing to confirm their New Mexico reserves in the face of rising uranium prices. Several groups fighting this trend fear the mining will scar the land, contaminate their ground water and desecrate a sacred Native American site.... Nolan Ryan victim of cattle theft High beef prices have led to a resurgence of stolen livestock, prompting the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association to start offering rewards for modern-day rustlers who use pickups instead of horses and prey on animals of absentee owners, the Fort Worth-based industry group announced Tuesday. Reflecting the upsurge, 5,199 cattle were recovered by the association’s field detectives in 2005, more than double the previous year’s number. Among victims in 2006 was baseball legend-turned-rancher Nolan Ryan, whose herd was allegedly thinned by 30 head by a former ranch hand, the son of a well-known cattle family who themselves are members of the Cattle Raisers, said Larry Gray, the association’s director of law enforcement....So, you wanna be a cowboy? Sallie Gregis has always dreamed of riding in an old-fashioned cattle drive. Today, she's finally getting her chance. The Sumter County woman is among about 400 people heading out on the trail for the Great Florida Cattle Drive across Osceola County. Today through Saturday, the ranchers, wranglers and would-be cowboys will drive 500 Cracker cows south across 50 miles of ranch land to celebrate Florida's ranching heritage. The event is an 1800s-era re-enactment of a traditional Florida cattle drive. Organizers have placed great emphasis on authenticity, banning participants from wearing ball caps, T-shirts or tennis shoes. Even the cattle have been tested to make sure they are genuine Florida Cracker cows -- small cattle with large horns and feet, descendants of the herds brought to Florida by Spanish settlers in the 1500s. Participants will ride on horseback or travel by covered wagon. At night, they will stay in primitive camps that each highlight different eras of Florida's history: a Spanish Colonial settlement, a Timucua village and a Civil War camp, among others....

Cowboy trades radio for rodeo Luke Branquinho is having a much better time at the National Finals Rodeo. A year ago, Branquinho was part of the broadcast team for the ProRodeo Radio Network. While Branquinho didn't mind the steady work, he would have much rather been a participant. "It was definitely hard watching," Branquinho said of playing the role of interested spectator. "My gut ached when I walked in here (Thomas and Mack Center) to do the radio program. Especially because you wanted to be competing. "But there was nothing I could do about it." What made it tougher was that Branquinho didn't get an opportunity to defend the world steer wrestling title he won 2004 in the same building. A torn pectoral muscle injury suffered in June took him out for the rest of 2005. Branquinho is making up for lost time in 2006. The Los Alamos, Calif., cowboy won his second straight go-round Wednesday night with a 3.9-second run to vault into the lead of the world standings....

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

NEWS ROUNDUP

IRS eyes funds for firefighters' families The tax collector is threatening to take a big bite out of the $1 million raised for the survivors of five firefighters who were killed battling the Esperanza blaze in October. The hundreds of donors who contributed to the fund also may not be allowed to deduct their gifts on this year's tax returns, Riverside County supervisors said Tuesday. "In our haste to raise the money, we weren't thinking of the IRS codes," said Supervisor Jeff Stone, whose district suffered damages from the 42,000-acre arson fire in the San Jacinto Mountains. Bob Duistermars, president of the Central County United Way, said an Internal Revenue Service representative recently notified him that the money must be awarded for a well-documented charitable need. Otherwise, it would be considered taxable income. The United Way is overseeing distribution of the money. "Apparently the loss of your life in public service does not automatically create a charitable need," Duistermars said....Salvage logging bill dead for year With just days remaining in the legislative session, two Republican senators say there is not enough time to take up a controversial bill to speed logging of burned forests and planting of new trees after storms and wildfires. Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho and Gordon Smith of Oregon say they will try again next year to approve the logging bill, which many Democrats and environmentalists strongly oppose. "Oregon should be allowed to manage its forests," Smith said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "There was little bipartisan support for a salvage bill in this Congress. Without broader bipartisan support in the next Congress, Oregon is going to be in a very tight bind." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is likely to chair the forestry subcommittee in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources panel next year, said he will look at the logging bill, but is unlikely to support anything resembling the bill that passed the GOP-led House this spring....Rivals learn to share public land Under a wide-ranging proposed deal, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest would get 573,000 acres of new designated wilderness. But an additional 713,000 acres, in a 3.3 million-acre national forest, would be deemed suitable for logging. The Beaverhead Strategy has won backing from conservation groups, wildlife organizations, timber companies and leading public officials. Republican Secretary of State Brad Johnson calls it a "historic effort." Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer dubs it "unprecedented and visionary." And, says Bruce Ramsey, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest supervisor, "It represents to us a way out of gridlock.". It may also be a model for other places in the West, including a national forest in northeast Washington....Agents, landowners killing more wolves Wolves caught eating what they shouldn't are paying a higher price these days. A record number have been killed this year in the northern Rocky Mountains for going after cows, sheep, dogs and other domestic animals. So far, 152 wolves have been shot by government agents or private landowners, about 50 more than last year and an eightfold increase from five years ago. In Wyoming, one-quarter of all wolves living outside Yellowstone's protective boundary were killed after reports of attacks on livestock. Wolf managers are taking a more aggressive tack with problem wolves mostly because the population in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho has soared beyond expectation in recent years. "We've got a recovered population so we're pretty hard on them if they get into trouble," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There are at least 1,264 wolves in the three states, according to new figures provided Monday....One pass for all the parks Outdoor enthusiasts will have a new $80 annual pass, starting next year, enabling them to get into national parks, national forests and wildlife refuges. The America the Beautiful - the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass will replace annual recreation passes from five federal agencies to create one comprehensive pass. It replaces the $50 National Parks annual pass and the $65 Golden Eagle Passport that covers forest, wildlife refuges and other sites. Golden Eagle, Golden Age and Golden Access passports will remain valid until they expire. The new pass allows access to more than half a billion acres, including 193 million acres of national forests and 258 million acres under the Bureau of Land Management. "It's a big step forward for people who like to use national parks, national forests and BLM lands," said Jim Maxwell, spokesman for the Forest Service in Colorado.... West Slope uranium rush Colorado's vast stores of uranium are once again causing an unprecedented rush of investors, hedge funds and prospectors toting Geiger counters and stake poles. After three decades on hiatus, thousands of prospectors are back on the Western Slope, staking claims and seeking permits, bent on tapping the region's rich uranium reserves. And with uranium prices hitting record highs, they are ready to cash in before everyone else. The price of the metal used as raw material inside nuclear reactors has jumped nearly 100 percent during the past year, buoyed by demand from energy-hungry nations such as China and India that are embracing nuclear-fired electricity to power their galloping economies.... Gas firm to citizens: Trust us on watershed Robert C. Behner, vice president of Genesis Gas and Oil, attempted Tuesday night to make a first step toward establishing trust in the eyes of the Palisade and Grand Junction residents whose municipal watersheds the company plans to drill for natural gas. The results were mixed. Behner, along with officials from the Bureau of Land Management and the cities of Palisade and Grand Junction, kicked-off a year-long “community development” planning process during a forum Tuesday night meant to air public opinion about how the governments should work together to regulate Genesis’ drilling operation. The BLM expects the community development plan to help it and Genesis establish “best management practices,” or ways to reduce impacts of drilling on the watersheds....U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services rejects blackbird protection The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined on Tuesday to list tricolored blackbirds as an endangered species, noting that the bird's population has increased with conservation efforts and it is not threatened. The agency's decision ends a nearly two-year effort by the Center for Biological Diversity to get the birds on the Endangered Species Act. "The population numbers have increased substantially in the last four years," agency spokesman Al Donner said. "Secondly, there is a broad-based conservation effort under way that is helping the species recover." A 2004 agency survey showed the tricolored blackbird population increased to 260,000 by 2004, up from 154,000 in 2000....Park Service proposal to kill non-native deer approved for West Marin he days of non-native deer populations in the Point Reyes National Seashore are officially numbered. A National Park Service plan to kill off fallow and axis deer by a combination of contraception and shooting has been approved and entered into the Federal Register. The deer - which biologists say have run roughshod over the park's ecosystem - will be eliminated by 2021 under the plan. "We will now get a group of people together to begin to talk about how to implement the program," said John Dell'Osso, Point Reyes National Seashore spokesman. "Nothing will start until next year." The plan to shoot the deer has been controversial, and groups such as the Marin Humane Society vow to keep fighting the plan....Water, hope flow into valley In Los Angeles, William Mulholland is remembered as the visionary who helped transform the city from a dusty desert town into a metropolis by building a 240-mile aqueduct in 1913 that brought water from the Sierra Nevada to the city. In the Sierra Nevada's Owens Valley, though, he is bitterly regarded as the villain who stole farmers' water and drove them to ruin. Today, after decades of legal battles, Los Angeles will make amends, in a modest way, for what Mulholland and the city did. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will turn a valve and raise a steel gate to send water spilling once more into a 62-mile stretch of the Owens River, which was a rushing stream generations ago before the aqueduct diverted its flow and reduced it to a pathetic trickle. The farmers and ranchers who were ruined by the Los Angeles Aqueduct are long gone, and there is little hope the water will ever turn all of the scrubby, rocky landscape green again. But businesses hope the revitalized river will help the area's struggling towns by attracting more tourists....Arrival of El Niño may mean dry winter for Colorado f last week's snowstorm had you dreaming about baking in the sun on a south Florida beach, there may be no need to make travel plans. Forecasters are predicting a virtual no-show for snow and slightly warmer temperatures across much of Colorado for the next few months. Scientists said last week's storm may be the last significant snow accumulation the Front Range sees until late February. "It might be the last hurrah for quite some time," said Klaus Wolter, a University of Colorado and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist. Keeping the snow and ice at bay is El Niño, a periodic warming of ocean water in the central and eastern Pacific. The warm-water mass gained strength in recent months and will influence weather conditions across the globe as long as it persists. It is forecast to last through spring. In the United States, an El Niño typically guarantees a wet winter for southern states, including the Four Corners region.... Box Elder commissioners reject road settlement The Box Elder County Commission this morning refused to go along with the county attorney's negotiated settlement of a contentious dispute over public access to a road through a mountain ranch. The settlement would have meant the county dropped criminal charges against rancher Bret Selman for closing the road in exchange for his admission that the road belongs to the county. The commission deadlocked 1-1, with Commissioner Scott Hansen voting for the settlement and Clark Davis opposing it. Suzanne Rees was absent due to illness. Chambers were packed with ATV riders, snowmobilers and elected leaders - Brigham City Mayor LouAnn Christensen was there. All were angry that those who want access were not included in settlement discussions. The reason for their opposition: The road through the Selman ranch would be closed from Nov. 1 through July 15 each year. The Selmans have always contended that the road belongs to them, and that their ability to close it is vital to the protection of Sharptail Grouse, deer and elk that live on the 7,000 acre-ranch. County Attorney Amy Hugie told the commission the Selmans have valid concerns about wildlife, vandalism and trespassing, and those were factors in the mediation session last week in Salt Lake City, where the settlement was reached.... Senate rejects $4.8 bln farm disaster aid The U.S. Senate rejected $4.8 billion in disaster aid for U.S. farmers and ranchers on Tuesday, despite pleas that tens of thousands of producers could go broke without help. Advocates vowed to try again next year, when Democrats control Congress and lawmakers try to wrap up work on bills to fund most of the federal government. The White House has threatened to veto disaster aid. Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican, criticized the disaster package, saying it would send money to some growers who did not need it. But supporters said the legislation was critical to help those whose crops were hurt by drought or other damaging weather this year. Gregg derailed the package by objecting that it violated spending limits. Senators voted 57-37 to exempt it but 60 votes are needed under Senate rules, so the package failed. Gregg said the package amounted to a 23 percent increase in farm subsidies for this year. Rancher reaches plea deal in fatal wreck A Cache County rancher charged with manslaughter for the death of a motorist whose car hit a stray steer can avoid prosecution by keeping his fences fixed and his cattle off the highway for the next two years. Darrell Kunzler, 70, was charged with second-degree felony manslaughter for a November 2004 crash on State Road 30, west of Logan, that killed 40-year-old Kimberly Johnson, a mother of six from Auburn, Wash. As part of a plea bargain agreement in which Kunzler pleaded no contest to one count of class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment, the manslaughter case may be dismissed two years from now. Kunzler faces up to a year in jail when he is sentenced for the reckless endangerment on Feb. 5 before 1st District Judge Gordon Low. Three other reckless endangerment counts were dismissed. The misdemeanors all pertain to non-fatal car/cow crashes during 2003 and 2004....Cultivating cattle culture Batey this week will take part in the Great Florida Cattle Drive near Kissimmee. The event is like the movie "City Slickers" on steroids: hundreds of ranchers and less experienced folks riding horses and wagons on a 50-mile cattle drive over four days. Alachua County residents participating include Chris Machen, wife of University of Florida President Bernie Machen. She went on cattle drives and other horse-riding trips when her husband worked at the University of Utah, and said she couldn't pass up the chance to experience Florida's version. "This is such an adventure," she said. The inaugural Great Florida Cattle Drive was held in 1995, so organizers missed holding the sequel on the 10th anniversary. The event recreates the cattle drives typical in Florida before the fence law of the 1940s, said Larry Ellis, an organizer. "We're trying to preserve the cow culture of Florida," he said....

Ohl takes aggregate NFR lead Cody Ohl took over first place in a second category during the sixth round of the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday. Five-time world tie-down roping champion Ohl, of Hico, already has over a $60,000 lead over Trevor Brazile of Decatur in the world standings. However, by finishing third in a time of 7.9 seconds, Ohl takes over the NFR aggregate lead from Hunter Herrin. Ohl now has earned $43,499 at the NFR compared with $42,379 for runner-up Joe Beaver of Huntsville. Taking first in the sixth round was Matt Shiozawa in 7.2 and in second was Clint Robinson in 7.7. Shiozawa, competing in his second NFR, referred to Ohl and some of his other competitors as "basically living legends." "There is a kind of a generation gap and you get into the younger guys," he said. "That is what we are facing. There is a lot of experience and gold buckles among the competitors."....